University of Georgia Athletics
Track & Field
James Thomas
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach - Jumps, Multis
- Email:
- jamest@sports.uga.edu
- Phone:
- 706-542-8006
James Thomas was named an assistant coach for jumps and combined events by Bulldog Director of Track and Field Caryl Smith Gilbert in June 2021. During the 2022 summer, Thomas was elevated to associate head coach following his first year at Georgia.
Thomas made an immediate impact in Athens in both the jumps and multi-events. Coming into the season with an 8,196 personal best, Kyle Garland obliterated the collegiate decathlon record with 8,720 points (No. 8 all-time American performer) to finish third at the USATF Championships and qualify for the World Athletics Championships. Garland, who put himself fifth on the school’s all-time top-10 list in the 110-meter hurdles (13.71) at the meet and seventh in the long jump (7.86 meters/25 feet, 9 ½ inches) at the USATF meet, managed a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships with an 8,333 tally. Teammate Johannes Erm won his first SEC decathlon title while Garland was recovering from the USATF meet. Erm and Garland went on to compete at the Worlds with Erm finishing ninth (8,227 points) for his native Estonia and Garland taking 11th(8,133) for Team USA.
Indoors, it was Garland who captured the SEC heptathlon crown, his third straight, with 6,205 points to become the No. 5 all-time collegiate performer and move to No. 2 in the school record books. Garland scored 6,200 a second time for runner-up honors at Nationals. His 7.86 in the 110m hurdles and 2.18m/7-1.75 in the high jump rank fourth and 10th, respectively, on UGA’s all-time top-10 lists.
Thomas’ jumpers also hit exceptional levels during his first season guiding them. Sixth-year senior Darius Carbin tied a 37-year-old school record with a 2.30m/7-6.50 high jump clearance (tied for NCAA’s top mark in 2022) at Georgia’s home meet before collecting the first SEC title of his career. Carbin went on to post the top finish for a Bulldog men’s high jumper in history at the NCAA meet, taking second (2.24m/7-4.25), and qualified for and competed at Worlds after taking fourth at the USATF Championships.
The Lady Bulldogs also thrived in year one under Thomas’ tutelage with a pair of First Team All-America certificates and three improvements in the school record books. First-year high jumper Elena Kulichenko swept the SEC Freshman Field Athlete of the Year honors indoors and outdoors after taking fourth at both conference meets and finishing eighth at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She reached 6 feet during both seasons, topping out at 1.87m/6-1.50 (No. 7 on UGA all-time top-10 list) during Georgia’s home meet. In addition, graduate transfer Jamari Drake built to a mark of 1.86m/6-1.25 and was an NCAA competitor in her final season while three-year graduate Shelby Tyler scored at both the SEC indoor and outdoor meets.
In the horizontal jumps, Thomas continued to develop Titiana Marsh as she scored in the triple and long jumps at both the SEC indoor and outdoor meets. Marsh earned bronze medal honors in the triple at the SEC Outdoor Championships with a season-best mark of 13.60m/44-7.50 before battling for fifth at Nationals (13.55m/44-5.50). Indoors, she advanced to the NCAA Championships again in both the long and triple jumps and had a pair of fourth-place finishes at the league meet.
True freshman pole vaulter Nikolai van Huyssteen also thrived in his first year with Thomas. Van Huyssteen scored at the SEC Indoor Championships and quickly moved to No. 6 on Georgia’s all-time top-10 lists with a regular season clearance of 5.20m/17-0.75.
Thomas, a native of Katy, Texas, graduated from Sam Houston State University and then earned his Master’s of Science in Health and Human Performance (Athletic Administration) at Texas A&M University-Commerce. He came to the University of Georgia after spending nine seasons in a similar role at Texas Tech. Thomas was a 10-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mountain Region Assistant of the Year while with the Red Raiders.
In 2021, he led junior Ruth Usoro to sweep the NCAA indoor and outdoor triple jump championships and also score in both long jumps nationally while also having another pair of scoring All-Americans in the jumps.
Thomas joined Texas Tech in 2012 and redefined success as the head of the men’s and women’s jumps and combined events groups. A veteran coach of nearly 20 years, Thomas was the catalyst to some of the most significant student-athlete development and achievements Texas Tech and the NCAA have ever seen. Thomas’ athletes amassed eight NCAA individual titles, 91 NCAA All-American honors, 29 Big 12 champions and nearly every top-10 performance in Red Raider history.
Thomas’ culminating moment was in 2019 when he helped lead the Texas Tech men’s program to their first ever NCAA outdoor team championship in Austin, Texas. This was a year that was built on a fourth straight Big 12 Championship, 11 NCAA All-Americans and four Big-12 champions. While the men were hoisting the team title, Zarriea Willis staked her claim in NCAA history by completing an indoor/outdoor sweep of the women’s high jump.
The success goes well beyond 2019. In total, Thomas has been instrumental in five Big 12 Team Championships, eight NCAA Top-10 team finishes and four NCAA Top-5 team finishes. Many of his student-athletes have earned the opportunity to travel the world while representing Texas Tech, their country and professional brands at multiple international championships. Thomas’ influence has also extended beyond the athlete as a current Masters Endorsement Instructor with USTFCCCA, and a prominent clinician throughout various parts of the world.
James is married to Ebony Thomas, and they have two sons, Jordan and Jameson Thomas.
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Thomas made an immediate impact in Athens in both the jumps and multi-events. Coming into the season with an 8,196 personal best, Kyle Garland obliterated the collegiate decathlon record with 8,720 points (No. 8 all-time American performer) to finish third at the USATF Championships and qualify for the World Athletics Championships. Garland, who put himself fifth on the school’s all-time top-10 list in the 110-meter hurdles (13.71) at the meet and seventh in the long jump (7.86 meters/25 feet, 9 ½ inches) at the USATF meet, managed a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships with an 8,333 tally. Teammate Johannes Erm won his first SEC decathlon title while Garland was recovering from the USATF meet. Erm and Garland went on to compete at the Worlds with Erm finishing ninth (8,227 points) for his native Estonia and Garland taking 11th(8,133) for Team USA.
Indoors, it was Garland who captured the SEC heptathlon crown, his third straight, with 6,205 points to become the No. 5 all-time collegiate performer and move to No. 2 in the school record books. Garland scored 6,200 a second time for runner-up honors at Nationals. His 7.86 in the 110m hurdles and 2.18m/7-1.75 in the high jump rank fourth and 10th, respectively, on UGA’s all-time top-10 lists.
Thomas’ jumpers also hit exceptional levels during his first season guiding them. Sixth-year senior Darius Carbin tied a 37-year-old school record with a 2.30m/7-6.50 high jump clearance (tied for NCAA’s top mark in 2022) at Georgia’s home meet before collecting the first SEC title of his career. Carbin went on to post the top finish for a Bulldog men’s high jumper in history at the NCAA meet, taking second (2.24m/7-4.25), and qualified for and competed at Worlds after taking fourth at the USATF Championships.
The Lady Bulldogs also thrived in year one under Thomas’ tutelage with a pair of First Team All-America certificates and three improvements in the school record books. First-year high jumper Elena Kulichenko swept the SEC Freshman Field Athlete of the Year honors indoors and outdoors after taking fourth at both conference meets and finishing eighth at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She reached 6 feet during both seasons, topping out at 1.87m/6-1.50 (No. 7 on UGA all-time top-10 list) during Georgia’s home meet. In addition, graduate transfer Jamari Drake built to a mark of 1.86m/6-1.25 and was an NCAA competitor in her final season while three-year graduate Shelby Tyler scored at both the SEC indoor and outdoor meets.
In the horizontal jumps, Thomas continued to develop Titiana Marsh as she scored in the triple and long jumps at both the SEC indoor and outdoor meets. Marsh earned bronze medal honors in the triple at the SEC Outdoor Championships with a season-best mark of 13.60m/44-7.50 before battling for fifth at Nationals (13.55m/44-5.50). Indoors, she advanced to the NCAA Championships again in both the long and triple jumps and had a pair of fourth-place finishes at the league meet.
True freshman pole vaulter Nikolai van Huyssteen also thrived in his first year with Thomas. Van Huyssteen scored at the SEC Indoor Championships and quickly moved to No. 6 on Georgia’s all-time top-10 lists with a regular season clearance of 5.20m/17-0.75.
Thomas, a native of Katy, Texas, graduated from Sam Houston State University and then earned his Master’s of Science in Health and Human Performance (Athletic Administration) at Texas A&M University-Commerce. He came to the University of Georgia after spending nine seasons in a similar role at Texas Tech. Thomas was a 10-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mountain Region Assistant of the Year while with the Red Raiders.
In 2021, he led junior Ruth Usoro to sweep the NCAA indoor and outdoor triple jump championships and also score in both long jumps nationally while also having another pair of scoring All-Americans in the jumps.
Thomas joined Texas Tech in 2012 and redefined success as the head of the men’s and women’s jumps and combined events groups. A veteran coach of nearly 20 years, Thomas was the catalyst to some of the most significant student-athlete development and achievements Texas Tech and the NCAA have ever seen. Thomas’ athletes amassed eight NCAA individual titles, 91 NCAA All-American honors, 29 Big 12 champions and nearly every top-10 performance in Red Raider history.
Thomas’ culminating moment was in 2019 when he helped lead the Texas Tech men’s program to their first ever NCAA outdoor team championship in Austin, Texas. This was a year that was built on a fourth straight Big 12 Championship, 11 NCAA All-Americans and four Big-12 champions. While the men were hoisting the team title, Zarriea Willis staked her claim in NCAA history by completing an indoor/outdoor sweep of the women’s high jump.
The success goes well beyond 2019. In total, Thomas has been instrumental in five Big 12 Team Championships, eight NCAA Top-10 team finishes and four NCAA Top-5 team finishes. Many of his student-athletes have earned the opportunity to travel the world while representing Texas Tech, their country and professional brands at multiple international championships. Thomas’ influence has also extended beyond the athlete as a current Masters Endorsement Instructor with USTFCCCA, and a prominent clinician throughout various parts of the world.
James is married to Ebony Thomas, and they have two sons, Jordan and Jameson Thomas.
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